Golden Rain
by fenrir-ice-wolf
Summary: a new threat is stalking Yoh and his friends and it turns out Hao is alive. However does the new evil have anything to do with him or is it something altogether more sinister? my first multi chapter story.BACK UP AGAIN PEOPLE!
1. prologue

Golden rain

Summery: a new threat is stalking Yoh and his friends and it turns out Hao is alive. However does the new evil have anything to do with him or is it something altogether more sinister?

Prologue 

The sun was just beginning to creep over Funbari Inn. Inside one of the inns many occupants sat at his window watching the sunrise. The pink light reflected onto the impassive face of Tao Ren. He gazed, as the pink-stained clouds slowly hailed the approach of a new day. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back as his skin drank in the warmth of the suns rays, and for once he felt peaceful, as if he could forget everyone in the inn, forget his unwanted feelings as if he was the only person in the world at that moment………………

Fat chance. His peaceful moment was shattered by a loud voice right next to his ear "Reeeeeeeennnnnnnnnn" Ren jumped about a foot into the air and, pulling his folding Kwan Dao out out of nowhere, pointed it at the offending persons throat. Gold eyes met dark blue and Ren glowered at the owner, Usui Horokeu. "Horo?" he asked quietly.

"yep Renny?"came the answering chirrup from the wide-awake Ainu.

"three things. One, why the hell are you up so early? Two, what the hell are you doing in my room? And three never call me Renny again or I will personally stick this " he waved the Kwan Dao under Horos nose for emphasis" in a very painful place. Got it?"

"Sure thing Renny"

Immediately, Horo noticed the change come over the smaller boy. His bangs were casting a shadow over his eyes, his whole body was twitching violently and you could practically see the aura of death and destruction that the younger shaman was giving off. Horo realized what brought the change about and his eyes widened .

The rest of the occupants of Funbari inn were woken by a voice bellowing "**_Kisama_**" and a loud crash as Horo ran for his life through the inn, away from the furious Chinese shaman, laughing all the time.

The view inside the Orba Occultis became hazy and eventually the scene from inside the inn (where Horo had ended up falling into the large outdoor bath) disappeared from sight. The shadowy figure behind the orb stayed staring at it for a long time afterwards, and eventually leaned back. "hmmm. So that's the home of the new Shaman King and his companions." The figure stood up and covered the now black orb with a wine red velvet cloth. Gathering long, flowing robes in one pale hand the person reached over and rang the large bell that was next to the desk where they now stood by. The loud noise of the bell tolled, like a death knell throughout the many twisting corridors and soon after it faded footsteps could be heard approaching the room. The door swung open to admit a teenage girl wearing a black hooded cloak that cast a shadow, obscuring her face. "you called master" she said in a monotones voice.

"Yes, I have a mission for you. Take this file. I need you to travel to Japan, to a place named 'the Funbari Inn'. The owner is one Yoh Asakura, the current Shaman King. I want you to go there and fight the occupents. Do not try to win. I merely want to observe them. That is all. Leave."

"Yes master" the girl replied stiffly, before turning and leaving in a swirl of black material. She padded down the endless corridors, until she eventually reached her rooms. She opened the door and was immediately greeted by a spirit in Hitodama mode. "Come Yanagi" she said. "we need to pack. We are going away and we may be quite some time. Asakura Yoh," she glanced down at a photograph from the file she had been given that showed Yoh and his friends, so she could identify them easily, " we will destroy you"

Owari

So what did you think? as bit different to what i normally write.Reviews and flames are accepted. Tell me if you think I should continue. If you review plz include any coupling requests cos I am stumped with that. Thanks.


	2. chapter 1

Hey all. I'm back with the second chapter()

xkoolshamanx- thanks for being the only person who reviewed

Chapter 1

"Hey Anna" a voice floated in through the open door of the inn, reaching the ears of a teenage girl, with shoulder length honey colored hair. The Itako ignored her fiancé who was training in the garden next to the well, wearing a new set of heavy weight bands, tears running down his face. "Anna" Yoh whined again. "What Yoh?" she snapped looking away from the screen.

"The tournaments' been over for three years now Anna. Why do I need to keep training? Can't I take a break?"

"No Yoh, you cant. You need to keep training. What would happen if another shaman challenged you to a match for the crown? Then my position as shaman queen would be under threat. And I will not stand for that. Now do the squatting dog for another half hour as punishment for interrupting my show." Yohs face dropped and the tears running down his face became a waterfall. With a cry, he reluctantly hauled himself into the position and settled down for another 30 minutes of excruciating pain.

"Yoh! Anna!" a small boy dragged himself through the door. "The dishes are done, the floors are clean, the beds have been remade and the bathroom is now sparkling" that being said, boy collapsed in a heap onto the floor."

"Thanks Shorty" was the only reply that the boy received. But he was passed out from all the work.

"Mistress Anna." The dinner you requested is ready. A tall man with a pompadour hairstyle announced.

Immediately Yoh was inside, his training forgotten at the prospect of food. Everyone took their places at the table, and some newcomers appeared, enticed out of their rooms by the delicious smell of Ryus cooking. Manta looked around at the people sitting with him. There was (from Mantas left) Lyserg, Faust, Eliza, Ren, Horo, Pirika, Chocolove and various guardian ghosts in hitodama mode. They all dug into the food appreciatively and began to talk and laugh. Soon all that was left were empty dishes.

Everyone sat back, warm, full and happy. They all gathered round the TV and watched the third Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, while Ren read a book and Anna read a magazine. After the film finished, the all trudged up to bed, tired but happy.

Horo couldn't sleep. The film had finished hours ago but he just couldn't seem to be able to drift off. With a reluctant sigh, he swung himself out of bed and quietly walked out of his room, to the garden. There, he was easily able to access the roof to indulge in his usual late night past time; stargazing. It reminded his of his village back in Hokkaido where he and his sister had grown up. However, he was surprised to find that the roof was already occupied. Ren was lying there gazing up at the countless stars above him. He glanced over at Horo, who simply hauled himself up onto the roof and took a place beside Ren. There weren't any streetlights near Funbari inn so they could see each star shining brightly above them. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. The tranquility washed over them both giving the boys a feeling of pure happiness.

Under that same starry sky a plane had just landed. It was unmarked and was immediately driven into a private hanger. A teenage girl alighted and walked into the cool night. She stretched; her muscles were cramped after the long flight. She looked up as Yanagi floated beside her. "beautiful isn't it Ojou-sama" breathed the guardian. " yes, I suppose it is" came the reply, before the girl made her way to the terminal where a car was waiting to pick her up.

Her driver led her to the waiting car, not needing her to tell him where to go. She settled comfortably into the back of the car and nestled sleeply into the back seat "driver" the words came from the back seat.

"yes?"

"hurry up" and with that, the girl dropped off into a fitful sleep.

The driver looked back at his passenger sadly. "Yes Erisa-sama" he whispered before starting the car engine.

The black car pulled smoothly away from the terminal, and was quickly swallowed up in the ever-deepening darkness.


	3. chapter 2

TT it's so sad. Nobody will review my story. Come on people I still need ideas for any future parings. So please review for me. Ooh I've forgotten my disclaimers for the previous chapters. I do not in any way, shape or form own shaman king and never will own it. If I did I wouldn't have to write these would I? Now without any further delay (for those of you who are still reading) the next chapter

Chapter 2

"Yoh darling. You know what day it is today don't you?" Anna called, one eyebrow raised and a smirk playing over her lips. Yoh looked up at her from his position at the table, a faint terror present in his eyes. "No Anna" he squeaked.

Anna sighed and rolled her eyes at her fiancés hopelessness. " Its marathon day Yoh. I got you some new weights, so now is a good time to try them out. And lets try to beat your last pitiful try shall we?" Sighing, Yoh finished off his lunch, and went off to put on the new weights.

Exiting the inn with Amidamaru, he found his friends grouped round the gate waiting for him. Frowning, he looked at them before asking "what's going on guys?"

"well" replied Ren "we couldn't leave you to brave this on your own now could we?"

" yeah dude. You're always complaining about these marathon things so we're goin' with you. Besides, you could use the company, right?"

"I guess so. But don't say I didn't warn you."

A lazy grin spread across Yohs face as he looked at his friends; Ren, Manta, Horo, Lyserg, and Ryu. Faust was staying behind at the house to do some research, and Jun was on a trip to the Tao estate along with Pailong. Bason, Mosuke, Kororo, Morphea and Tokagero were also there, most of which were in hitodama mode. So off the small group set, in high spirits.

Above them, a pair of grey eyes followed the small group until they were out of sight. Erisa smiled. She had found the people she was looking for, and it had been relatively easy to tweak their minds into all wanting to out together. After all, she was a fairly powerful psychic. She slipped out from her hiding place and began to run silently after them.

After a good two hours of running, the small group of shaman reached a clearing in the park. They all flopped down onto the cool grass, absolutely exhausted. "Dude" gasped Horo " I feel for you. I really do. And you have to do this once a week? How do you cope? How far have we run anyways?"

Amidamaru looked thoughtful for a few moments. "I believe that you have come about 30 miles," he announced to the horrified faces before him.

Yoh just shrugged and smiled lazily." You know" he exclaimed, " I'm so tired I don't think I could move from this spot."

"Well that will certainly make my job a lot easier" a voice rang across the clearing and a girl stepped into view. She was about medium height with iron-grey eyes and pale lavender hair that cascaded down her back. She wore a simple pair of black pants and a black t-shirt with a large, suspicious looking bag slung over one shoulder. Everyone stared at her in surprise until Manta broke the silence. "Who are you? And why are you here?" he said, asking the question everyone was dying to hear the answer to. With a smirk the girl replied "My name is Erisa. As to the reason why I am here in this god-forsaken town, I should have thought that would be obvious. I'm here to challenge you all to a fight." This little announcement was met by total silence for a few seconds. " Well?" said Erisa raising an eyebrow. Yoh looked around at everyone's expressions and nodding, took off the training weights. "We accept your challenge," he announced.

"Good. Yanagi" she called and immediately a spirit appeared next to her. The spirit was of a youngish woman, no more than 25 when she died. She was dressed in the traditional attire of a geisha or an o-maia. Immediately Ryus eyes changed into hearts, as did the shape of his hair. There were a lot of raised eyebrows regarding Yanagi, but they were dismissed as they realized that they didn't have any of their weapons with them to make their oversouls. Erisa sighed and unslung her bag throwing it at them. "I took the liberty of taking your weapons from the inn. I knew you wouldn't mind." Everyone glowered at her as they located their rightful weapons. Then everyone shouted the command for their guardians.

"Amidamaru, into the spirit sword!"

"Bason, into the Kwan Dao!"

"Mosuke, into the iron hammer"

"Kororo, into the snowboard!"

"Morphea, into the dowsing crystal!"

"Tokagero, into the wooden sword!"

Erisa smiled coldly at the glittering oversouls across from her.

"Nice. But not nice enough." She pulled something out from up her sleeve.

"Yanagi, into the fan!"

There was a flash of light and suddenly she was holding a large, iron fan that was about the length of her arm, and surrounded by a light red light that signified an oversoul. She looked at them, and to their surprise she looked almost apologetic. Then suddenly she charged forward with a cry. " Yanagi, Razor Edge Fan!" suddenly the edge of her fan became deadly sharp and she started to slash at them, taking a good chunk out of Ryus hair. "Bason, Golden Punch!" she whirled round shouting something incomprehensible, and the fan immediately grew to surround her entire form as both Ryu and Ren tried hit her. The moments their weapons collided with the steel shell, they cracked and snapped. The two shaman were thrown backwards, all spirit control lost. It was then that the others began to realize how formidable a foe they were up against. As she shrank the fan and leapt away, all in one fluid motion, Lyserg launched his homing crystal attack, but in mid air Erisa twisted round and sliced through the wire with the razor sharp edge of the fan. Landing perfectly on two feet, she turned around to face Horo who was charging towards her with the Nipopo Punch ready. With a smirk she shouted "Yanagi, Flying Razor attack!" and hurled her fan into the path of Horos attack. With a blinding flash of light the fan connected with the Nipopo Punch and Horos board was sliced cleanly in two, like a knife through butter. The fan flew back into her hand like a boomerang, and she turned her head slightly towards Manta and Mosuke. "Time to say goodbye little sword smith" she smirked raising the fan, when BOOM. A Halo Blade had gone off right behind her. She was thrown forward by the force of the attack and gasped, as her spirit control was broken. She got shakily to her feet, and re-instated the spirit control. With a growl she hurled her fan at Manta, who took a square hit and was knocked cold. Yoh looked at his defeated friends around him and glared at the newcomer. "Why are you doing this?" He shouted. " Are you like my brother? Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer for your own sick amusement?" everyone stared at him. This wasn't the Yoh they knew. The Yoh they knew was calm, kind and hardly ever lost his temper. Even Erisa was taken aback, before smiling sadly at Yoh. "No I don't. I am doing this for my family" and with that enigmic response she suddenly lept backwards disappearing into the forest that surrounded them.

Yoh stared after her, wondering what she meant by her parting comment. And the look on her face too…

He turned away and looked towards his friends. "Hey Amidamaru." He called. " I think there's more to this story than meets the eye. Don't you?"

" I am inclined to agree with you Yoh-dono." Came the reply from the deceased samurai.

They rounded up the others, and set out for the Funbari inn, the setting sun transforming the sky from pale blue, to blood red.

Owari

So..? what do you think? Now see the nice purple button down there? Push it.


	4. chapter 3

Come on people. I need reviews, if only to tell me who you think should be pared off with who. So I have decided (not that's it will make that much of a difference) that I wont post any more chapters after this one until I get 5 more reviews. So, if you are still sticking with this, enjoy the next chapter (this one is a little bit darker than the other ones)

Disclaimer- I will own shaman king when rabid chibis rule the world.

Chapter 3 

Erisa lay sprawled on the floor of the room with the black drapes, a stream of blood running down her face from the deep gash that was just below her hairline. She looked up at _him _standing over her, with an iron tipped bamboo rod in one hand. Her eyes flicked over to the table where a small mortuary tablet held her guardian ghost prisoner. Her master raised the cane again and brought it crashing down onto her back, where the blood was already soaking through her shirt. She raised herself weakly onto her elbows, only to be forced back onto the floor by another flurry of blows, this time across her face. She cried out as she felt the cruel metal bite into her skin, and the warmth of the blood on her face as it seeped out of many deep wounds and lacerations across her cheeks.

He looked down at the girl, lying helplessly on the floor and sneered at her. " You're pathetic. Useless in fact. How could you have just run away like that?" seeing a look of shock flit across her face, he continued with his tirade of abuse. " Oh yes. Don't think I wasn't watching you. You ran. You were weak and showed _compassion _for the pathetic fools. What do you have to say for yourself? WELL?" he bellowed the last part, as he had received no answer. Quivering with anger he grabbed a handful of pale lavender hair and yanked it upwards, so he was looking her in the eyes. They were empty, and the spark that had been there a few days previously had vanished. With a smirk, he gave another savage yank on the handful of hair, pulling the girl to her feet. " Since you are being so, unresponsive, today I think we will have to try a different tactic" and with that he began to pull her by her hair towards one of the walls. Pushing a secret panel, located behind the drapes, a section of the wall slid smoothly back to reveal a long, dark stairway stretching out before them.

The passage and his words, stirred Erisa into action, and through the mists of pain that were fogging her mind she began to struggle against the man. However, she was wounded too badly, and her feeble attempts only made him hold on tighter to her arm as well, causing bruises to blossom under his fingers.

He threw her forward so she fell into the passageway, and was pushed to make her go forward. Erisa couldn't see a thing, as was always the case whenever she came down here. She had no choice but to move, slowly inching down, a step at a time. Judging by the pain in her chest she must have broken at least two ribs and the pain was unbearable. He shoved her in the small of her back, making her stumble down the last few steps and falling onto the cold, hard floor. With the small light that was provided by the lantern he carried she could see the four other people chained to the wall. The man moved over to another one of the walls, where a large cat-o-nine tails hung. Turning to the people shackled to the wall, he advanced on the smallest, and, making sure she was watching, raised the whip and brought it across the little boys stomach.

Echoing up from the chamber were the loud screams of a child in pain, and the shouts and sobs of his sister as she was forced to watch him get beaten for her own moment of weakness.

A few days later…

Back at Funbari inn, a worried looking Jun and Tamao were changing an irate Rens bandages. He had suffered multiple wounds to the upper chest and arms, but they were healing cleanly and quickly, like everyone else's cuts and bruises.

Anna had Yoh back at training harder than ever, as Tamao had had another vision, '_the defeated shall return, full of vengeance for the one who inflicted such pain' _After a call to Yohs grandfather, they interpreted it as meaning that Erisa and Yanagi would indeed be back, and baying for their blood. After all, they had defeated and injured her.

They were all sitting down to dinner when there was an amazing commotion from outside. Everyone looked out to the back, and saw Erisa standing there with her back turned towards them, the dismembered limbs of Lee Pailong around her. Jun looked furious, and had to be held back by Ryu and Faust.

Yoh looked at her and saw, to his astonishment the hand holding the large iron fan was trembling, and he could see her shoulders shaking slightly, as if she was crying. When she turned her face slightly towards them Yoh saw, that this was indeed the case. Everyone drew closer together, though they were healing pretty well, they weren't healed enough to take her on again. The only people who had a weapon were Yoh, Faust, and Tamao and that was certainly not enough (Manta still had his but he was visiting relatives, therefore he wasn't there). Suddenly, a shockwave rippled through the air, and even as they watched her spirit control extinguished itself suddenly and she collapsed. Yoh was already running to catch her, and when he did he gasped at the sight of her face. "Faust! Get over here! Now, she's badly hurt!" Everyone, up to that point had been rooted to the spot, but were suddenly galvanized into action by Yohs shouting. Faust was the first to reach her side and his eyes widened when he took in the spectacle before him. Her face was a mass of cuts and bruises, most of which were becoming infected, as they could see the pus forming in the scabs. Also, when Yoh moved his to help support her, his hand was already stained red. Lifting her up bridal style, Faust dashed inside quickly followed by his beloved Eliza, to help with his newest patient.

"Why did you do that Yoh?" growled Ren and Anna in unison.

" Yea" complained Horo. "I mean, did you forget that just a few days ago she tried to kill us?"

Yoh looked at them, a serious expression on his face. " You didn't see the look she gave me and Amidamaru. And the state she is in now, she could die. I don't believe that she wanted to do that to us, that she wanted to hurt us. But we'll just have to wait until we can get some answers out of her." And with that he stood up and followed Faust back into the inn.

The others looked uneasily at the large pool of blood that had formed on the ground where she had been lying, before following Yohs example and going back to their dinner.

Well another chapter done. Please tell me what you think of it. Oh and I'd like to thank all of my friends who have bore with me and proof-read all of my chapters. Thank you. And I only torture my characters cos I love 'em


	5. chapter 4 i can see a theme here

Wow. I really can't believe I got this far and people are actually still reading. Amazing. Oh well here comes the disclaimer;

Disclaimer: if I owned shaman king I wouldn't be writing this would I? It would just be on TV.

Many thanks to:

MoonCrest

xkoolshamanx

For being the only people who reviewed.

So, to all of you who are waiting here's the next chapter…

Chapter 4

Lyserg glanced at the door nervously. Why had they had to put her in the room next to his? Out of all the rooms in the inn they had to choose that one. It was enough to make his blood boil. Giving one last glower at the offending door, he stormed past and through into the kitchen. Grabbing his wallet he scribbled a note to tell everyone where he had gone, before going into town in order to try to find a replacement dowsing crystal. Thankfully his father's crystal was safe, but he disliked using it, as he was afraid that it would be smashed, and it was the only thing he had to remember his family by.

Faust was up early too, but his was a grimmer task. He walked into Erisas room to find her sleeping peacefully, her cheeks a much healthier colour than the deathly pallor of two days ago. Her breathing had evened out, and the ribs she had bruised were healing nicely. He frowned to himself. Why had she attempted to come back to fight them when she was in such a condition? When she probably knew that she ran a high risk of dying. While she had slept they had questioned her distraught guardian ghost who informed them that she had been ordered to come back, but immediately clammed up when she was asked about how her mistress had gotten those wounds, and who ordered her back. The ghost was even now waiting outside her room, until Faust had finished with his check-up, so she could resume her bedside vigil. The doctor mentally added those to the list of questions that they would ask the girl when she woke up. Frowning, he remembered the state that her back had been in, open wounds that had been hastily bandaged, and not very well for that matter. They didn't look like they had been caused by a halo blade, there were too many of them. And from the others accounts the attack had missed, so there should only be some minor bruising. "Curiouser and curiouser" he muttered one of his favorite quotes to himself as he stood up, and headed towards the door.

Allowing the guardian ghost to dash into the room, he moved slowly towards his room, and the medicine cabinet where he kept his morphine. However, when he got there he was horrified to find that he was nearly out. Sighing he grabbed the last of the painkiller that he had become addicted to, and moved into the kitchen where he found everyone getting ready to go on a shopping trip. The boys were complaining bitterly, but Anna had insisted they go to help with the bags. He saw Lysergs note attached to the fridge by a magnet, and smiled.

Faust was reading a book on medical science when Lyserg walked back in, a bag clutched in his hand. He looked round in surprise, and gave a startled cry when Faust spoke from the chair behind him. "Lyserg, I need you to do me a favor. I need to run down to the chemists and get some more morphine. Therefore I need someone to watch Erisa while I'm out. Since everyone seems to have gone out shopping you're my only available option."

Lyserg looked at him horrified but Faust was already at the door. "My mobile numbers by the phone if anything should go wrong." And with that he left.

Lyserg sighed, and carried his precious bundle to Erisas room. Pulling a chair next to her bed, he unpacked the contents of the brown bag, and set to work attaching the wire to the crystal, in such a way that it wouldn't snap when it was launched. When it was to his satisfaction he put it down next to him, and retrieved his crystal launcher (AN if you know what this is called tell me please). Winding the new weapon into place, he glanced down at the sleeping girl. She looked so peaceful, so innocent that he found it hard to believe that this was the same girl that had tried to kill them a few days ago. He also noticed that he guardian ghost was floating next to the headboard, and was watching him closely. He met her gaze, and she blushed and stared hard at the floor.

Lyserg looked at the cuts on Erisas face, and felt sick when he remembered what she looked like when she came there. He reached out a trembling hand and gently touched one of the shallower gashes on he forehead. " Who did this?" he whispered to the guardian ghost, who was watching her mistress sadly. " Jing-sama" she replied in a whisper. " Lyserg gaped at her, she had actually told him?

As he turned his attention back to Erisa, she moved and her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Lyserg, and her eyes widened as she remembered everything that had happened. She made a move to sit up and throw back the covers, but she was gently but firmly pushed back down again. " You shouldn't move around too much. Faust said that that would open the wounds along your back again. He's been looking after you for the past two days, since you collapsed." He watched her eyes fill with tears as the information sank in, and he felt a great wave of pity for the girl before him. Maybe Yoh was right and there was more to this than met the eye. . He knew how she must feel. After all, she had collapsed in front of her opponents, and to top that off she had been taken in by them and nursed back to health. He noticed that Yanagi was standing next to the bed, one hand on the girls shoulder. He suddenly smiled as a loud growling filled the room, and Erisa blushed bright scarlet. " I guess you're hungry then?"

That's how the rest of the group found them, her and Lyserg swapping interesting stories while their guardian ghosts watched from the corner. Faust checked her over to make sure that she was well enough to make the short walk to the lounge, helped by him and Lyserg.

"Before you all say anything I would like to say how sorry I am that it had to come to this, and how grateful I am to you all for taking me in and caring for me." She gave a short bow, and lowered herself onto a cushion. " Well, you could start by telling us why you attacked us in the park for a start, and then why you were here." Suggested Yoh. Erisa looked at him, and he could see fear in her eyes, and she stayed silent. " Well" Lyserg said slowly, " if you don't want to answer that yet, can you tell us who this Jing-sama, that Yanagi mentioned?" she nodded and said quietly " he is my master. He gives me orders and I carry them out. Otherwise, the punishments, they can't bear thinking about" she trailed off as her eyes began to fill with tears. " He told me to attack you, to test you to see your strengths and weaknesses. The same orders were what brought me here the other night."

" But why?" cut in Anna, "why do you do his bidding, like a mindless puppet?"

" He has my family," came the reply. "He keeps them prisoners in the dungeon, and if I fail first he beats me, then he beats them. Especially my brother." During this the tears had begun to flow freely from her eyes. There was a shocked silence, as one by one, the other shaman realized how much power this Jing person had over the broken girl sitting in front of them. The hard looks in their eyes softened as Horo whispered, " Was it him? Who did that to your face and back?" she didn't say any thing, but the look in her eyes told them everything.

Realizing that they were all looking at her with sympathy, she hurriedly scrubbed her eyes with the back of her pajama sleeve. Looking around her, she smiled weakly and received some small smiles in return, with the exception of Yoh who beamed at her. "One more question if that's ok with you. What was that shock wave before you fainted?" she opened her mouth to reply when the doorbell rang. Frowning Manta walked over and pulling open the door looked up into a face that he never wanted to see again. " Hello little brother" smirked Hao at Yoh. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything"

Owari

Well am updating this in school. Hope you all enjoyed. See the nice purple button down there?

Press it.


	6. chapter 5

I'm sorry! I know I'm overdue a new chapter but blame it on the horrendous amount of coursework I've been given. GCSE year sucks. Well now ive run out of things to say so without any further ado the disclaimer:

Disclaimer; I never did and never will own shaman king TT

Chapter 5 

Hao smirked at the occupants of the room, who were gaping at him in open-mouthed horror. " Well? Are you going to invite me in? That is the custom when family drops in un-expectedly is it not?" with that he pushed his way past Manta and strode purposefully towards the table. Everyone glanced over at the door, half-expecting the spirit of fire to be out there as well, since Hao never went anywhere without it. "If you're worrying about my guardian, then don't bother. He isn't here." Throwing a glare in Yohs direction, he continued. "I was sent back if you must know. "

"Sent back? Sent back from where?" came the puzzled question from an equally puzzled Ryu.

Hao rolled his eyes. " The great beyond, the other side, up there whatever you want to call it. And you call yourself a shaman. Anyway, I was sent back because someone there either pitied me, or wanted to make my life a living hell. You decide. I've been forced to come and live here and, oh joy of joys, have been bound so I can't leave. It appears that the higher ups (AN sounds like he's talking about work doesn't it?) have decided to let me have another chance at life, and I intend to fulfill this path that has been laid out for me. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I can be thrown out, but only when I have been suitably reformed and have proven myself. I've even got a spiritual parole officer who will be along later. Isn't life grand?" (AN I think he has the longest speech I have typed yet.)

Erisa gave a worried glance to her left, where Lyserg was sitting and felt the violent tremors that shook his body. His eyes were obscured by his bangs and she shrank away from him, all too horribly reminded of her master. Suddenly Lyserg shot to his feet. "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me" he muttered, and with that he sped to his room, slamming the door behind him. There was a hush for a few seconds before Faust excused himself to check on Lyserg. Everyone knew what that meant, remove all sharp objects from the vicinity of his room and give him a couple of sedatives. He still hadn't gotten over the whole X-law phase yet, and on occasions showed a deep hatred to Hao for what he had done 11 years ago (AN Lyserg was 6 when it happened and therefore is now 17). Faust was quickly followed by Erisa who went to see how her new friend was.

Manta excused himself on the grounds that he had to be home for ' something important', and Ryu had gone to finish off the chores. Ren had gone to practice and Horo had gone to wash the dishes. Eventually only Yoh, Hao and Anna remained at the table. Yoh shifted uncomfortably, and received a glare from Anna. Hao, oblivious to the discomfort he was causing, began to finish what was left in the rice cooker. "So Hao…" Yoh began nervously, before Anna cut him off. "Since you are going to be staying here you will abide by my house rules. There is only one, you will do what I tell you, when I tell you or else." She stated calmly. She stood up, and made her way to the lounge, where the TV was. Pausing at the door, she turned her head slightly. "Oh and Hao. Know this. I can read your mind so stop thinking that. Or I'll really throw you. Just ask Boro Boro." With that she swept from the room, leaving the wide-eyed twins. There was a silence for a few seconds after she had left, before the two glanced at each other. Sighing to himself Yoh got up, followed by Hao, and proceeded to give his brother a tour of the house and allocate him a room.

Meanwhile, Erisa was peering round the door to Lysergs room, where she could see him sitting on his bed, with his knees under his chin, staring unseeing out of the window. Morphea was flying round his head in small circles, making small worried noises. Slowly she inched into the room, and on closer inspection she could see his shoulders shaking slightly. Looking at his face, she could see the silent tears escaping from the large emerald eyes. Reaching out, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and she felt his body stiffen suddenly at her touch, but he relaxed almost instantly. Sitting next to him, she glanced out of the window, before returning her gaze to his face. "He murdered them." Lyserg muttered. "11 years ago Hao broke into my house and tried to get my parents to join him. I had just found this; a birthday present" he held out his dowsing pendulum. "So I came running in, so my parents could be proud of me. Instead I was faced with their smoking corpses." As he spoke his head was getting lower and lower until his head was pressed into his knees. The in-audible crying turned into heart-wrenching sobs, and his shoulders were heaving with the effort of breathing. Erisa reached out, unsure, and pulled him into a hug. She only meant to hold him for a moment, but he suddenly turned round, encircling her waist in a grip of iron and sobbing into her shoulder. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but she held him until his labored breathes became easier and evened out as he drifted off into a dreamless, uneasy sleep.

Smiling sadly down at him she at him she eased him off her knee from where he had fallen asleep and gently covered him in his blanket. "Look after him Morphea" she whispered, and with that she left the room.

So what do you think? Many thanks to my beta readers, Kate and Jaz. Please review. All you have to do is click the nice little purple button…


	7. AUTHOR ALERT

Hey all. I'm really sorry that I havn't updated sooner but I do have reasons hides behind coursework I've just had so much schoolwork, and my parents have been constantly on my back about my upcoming mocks TT also I have writers block, so any comments/critisims(constructive or otherwise) are very welcome

Till I find my inspiration again, ja ne!!


	8. Chapter 6

Okay. First off I want to apologise to my readers for taking so long to update this story. I have a good reason, I swear! holds up her Yami Bakura plushie defensively I had to deal with my GCSE mock TT three whole weeks of exams. It was torture. But I'm back now, for a while at least, and I have new ideas!

I don't know if you realized, but there was a problem with chapter five, it only decided to show half of it. So incase you didn't know, take a look now. Thanks. Many thanks to the people who reviewed ( I have a new reviewer! Yay!!):

xkoolshamanx

Kai-chan

MoonCrest

Now without any further ado, chapter 6 (took me long enough)…

_thought_

_**writing in a letter**_

Chapter 6 

Over the next few days, the atmosphere in Funbari inn was tense and strained. Yoh was the only one who would talk to Hao, though Anna was constantly barking orders at him. The only relief was Horos teasing of Erisa and Lyserg, who temporally took over Rens position of trying to kill Horo.

Then one morning, about a week after Hao had appeared something happened. It was a cold morning, and the ground was covered in tendrils of mist. The sound of the early birds were somewhat muted, and it seemed that Funbari inn was cut off from the rest of the world. Ren was up and on the way to the kitchen fridge for milk, when he noticed that the sliding door to the garden was wide open. Frowning, he turned towards the open door and made to shut it, when he caught sight of the figure wreathed in mist, kneeling in the garden. Suddenly alert he crept forward. As he got closer, distinguishing features leapt out at him until he realized that he was looking at Erisa. She was in her nightclothes, and her wavy lavender hair was pulled into a messy bun. Droplets of moisture clung to the strands of hair, and made her clothes damp. She sat there, unmoving, except for a few shivers. He cleared his throat, "Erisa." No response, so he tried again, a little bit louder. "Erisa." Still no response. His golden eyes narrowed as he grabbed he shoulder and shook her. Her skin was cold to the touch, and he caught sight of the expression on her face before she acknowledged his presence. It was a look of terror, mixed with horror and pure fear. "i'm so sorry Ren!" she gasped, suddenly feeling the cold through her damp clothes. "I didn't realize you were there!" she apologized again, but Ren just waved it away. His mind was more focused on the look on her face. _What could have made her look like that? _He wondered as they entered the house. There they found Yoh, up already and sitting under the kotatsu, smiling to himself and rolling a mandarin orange across the heated top in front of him. " morning Yoh" called Ren from the doorway.

"funga fufu funga" was his only reply. Rolling his eyes, Ren left the older boy for the kitchen. Shivering, and throwing a weary glance over her shoulder at the sliding door, Erisa ran to her room to get changed into something warmer.

Throughout the rest of the day Ren kept a close watch on Erisa. She was quite the actress he observed as he watched her talking with Horo and Chocolove. It was only because he was looking for the cracks in the cheerful mask that she wore that he was able to tell she was unsettled. Before lunch, she went to her room complaining of stomach pains and " feeling like I'm gonna throw up". Faust had given her some paracetamol and sent her off. Lunch was normal enough, but Ren realized that he would have to tell the others what he had seen. Laying his chopsticks down he looked around wearily before clearing his throat. "I think you should all know what I saw this morning," he announced, his voice cutting through the other conversations. Everyone turned to look at him questioningly. " The thing is, it's about Erisa. This morning I found her sitting in the garden, most probably she'd been there all night. This in it-self is rather odd, but then I saw the expression on her face. She was scared. No, she was beyond scared. She was terrified. You know what she's like he shot at Lyserg. "Is there anything you know of that would scare her that badly?"

Lyserg frowned before replying, "I don't know." He looked up. " Why? Do you think she's in some kind of trouble?"

"I'm not sure but I do think that should talk to her about it when she comes out of her room." everyone agreed and waited for dinner that evening with anticipation.

By the time dinner rolled round, everyone was getting worried. Nobody had heard or seen Erisa since she went into her room before lunch. Yoh was walking towards his room, but was surprised to find Faust and Horo knocking on Erisas door and calling her. " What's going on?" he called down the hall to them.

"I wanted to give her this paracetamol for her stomach pains, but she won't answer the door" Faust replied.

"Maybe she's asleep," suggested Yoh. The others didn't look convinced. Lyserg joined them and after hearing the situation he visibly paled. "You don't think anything's happened to her like Ren thought do you?" he asked anxiously.

At this the others were jerked into action. At the same time they all threw their shoulders against the door. Due to the combined weight of the four the door gave way after a couple of shoves. They burst into the room, only to be confronted with a neatly made bed and a small note on the bedside table. The note was held down by a newly carved mortuary tablet. Being the first to reach the table, Lyserg snatched up the note and tablet. His eyes widened as he read what she had written. His hand shaking, he held it out to the others. It read;

_**Dear Everyone, **_

Thank you for looking after me, despite the fact that a few days before I was your enemy. But now I have to leave. Please don't try to follow me, you will only end up hurting yourselves and I don't want that to happen. I have to do this alone. I am leaving Yanagi here, I know she will be well cared for. Yours Scincerely, Erisa 

"She's gone…" Horo murmered. "She's really gone."

"And she's not coming back" stated Lyserg in a cold voice, before he bolted from the room.

Owari

Well? What do you all think? I think this is the second longest one ive typed so far. Everyone who reviews gets a free cookie and a reno plushie holds up reno doll and bag of cookies ooh thanks to my beta readers for bearing with me ' and now see the purple button down there? Clicky clicky…………


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